Too easy to blame the ref. Grayson failed to make his players show discipline. Howson's second yellow could have been straight red. Gradel is always a bloody liability.
Plenty of positives, but we lost this game because our players can't control themselves, or rather I don't think Grayson can control them. Also, Graysons tactics were crap. 1 dwarf up front. Even with 11 men we'd never have scored today. My ST card didn't work either, so had to bloody queue up. A terrible day, anything other than relegation this year will be a miracle. On 13 Aug 2011, at 18:36, Dr Michael Benjamin <[email protected]> wrote: > Football was nothing more than a sideshow this afternoon to a referee who > clearly thought the fans had come to see him dish cards out and the > continued protests against Ken Bates. > > The “dissident minority” as Ken Bates so arrogantly branded fans opposed to > his ownership of the club were vocal before, during and after the match as > the hostility towards our chairman continues to grow from something easily > dismissed as a vociferous few to the vast majority of Leeds United fans. > > Various banners had been created and several different songs were sung, but > they were all united in their message; enough is enough Ken, it’s time to > go. > > The match itself started brilliantly for Leeds United who completely > dominated proceedings, right up until the point where Max Gradel was given a > second yellow card and sent down the tunnel after just 26 minutes. Second > yellow was unquestionable, but the first was handed out in the opening > minutes, a period in which most referees would have had a word to calm > things down a little. Not this ref though, this* *ref was part of a growing > breed of referees who are convinced the supporters come to watch them blow > their whistle. > > Despite the numerical advantage, Boro struggled to take a hold of the game > and Leeds United continued to battle on and carve out chances. Howson, > Clayton, McCormack and Snoddy were all causing the visiting team problems, > as was Tom Lees who appears to be unmarkable from set-plays and had several > good chances. > > As we approached half-time there were plenty of positives as Leeds proved > they were more than equal to Middlesbrough despite the numerical > disadvantage. > > And then, almost predictably, the referee decided to level things out with > another dubious sending off. This time, the referee pointed his shiny new > cards in the direction of McMahon whose perplexed reaction was mirrored by > the travelling away contingent. The Leeds United fans meanwhile considered > it justice. > > The late sending off of McMahon in the first half meant the second half > started with complete parity, both in terms of scoreline and players > remaining. > > But it wasn’t long until the referee decided to ruin what had temporarily > become a good battle on the pitch by sending Jonny Howson off and restoring > Middlesbrough’s numerical advantage. It was another dodgy decision from an > absolute joke of a referee who looked ready to book Emnes for a dive, but > then appeared to change his mind and show Jonny Howson his second yellow > card instead. > > With only nine men remaining, Leeds had their work cut out and for the most > part, were chasing shadows. Andy Lonergan made more saves today than most > keepers would have to make in a month and was indisputably the man of the > match. But try as he may – and believe me his performance should be > described as nothing less than epic – Emnes found a way passed him on 67 > minutes which would ultimately decide the match. > > *Conclusions* > > Despite the result, Leeds United fans left proud with a battling performance > from the team under extreme and ridiculous circumstances. Even with nine men > remaining, the “keep fighting” spirit of Billy Bremner lived on at Elland > Road, embodied by each and every one of our players. > > Adam Clayton was once again incredible as one of Leeds’ biggest threats up > front and a workhorse destroyer in the centre of the park. He also made a > bid for goal of the season with an attempt to lob the keeper from around the > centre-circle, and was only denied by the fingertips of Boro’s keeper. > > Simon Grayson’s ingenious decision to play four centre-backs (Lees, Bromby, > Kisnorbo and O’Dea) in our back line was not the solution to all our > problems. Whilst Lees seems to be slowly adapting to the right-back > position, O’Dea is closer to a striker than he ever will be a full-back. > Still, it was good to see the manager didn’t shy away from making changes – > we saw that all too often last season. > > Overall, I can’t help but feel cheated by the referee. I doubt any > Middlesbrough fan in attendance today can honestly say they would have won > without the red cards – Leeds were running them off the park. It was the > kind of performance we needed to see after the shambolic display at > Southampton, even if we didn’t get the result we deserved. > Dr Michael Benjamin, > Community Psychiatrist > ------------------------------- > myRay: On-line Self-Help CBT > http://www.myRay.com > ------------------------------ > Mental Health: > http//www.MyDoctorExplains.com > -------------------------------- > Auditing || Quality Control > http://www.MyDoctorExplains.com/alamo/ > -------------------------------- > Blog: > http://www.DrMichaelBenjamin.com > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: > http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > MARCHING ON TOGETHER (There's it) _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER (There's it)
